Business

Taking aim at a cost structure that analysts say has been a millstone in the brutally competitive market for PCs, Gateway has announced plans to lay off 1,900 workers and close 80 of its retail stores. The company said the 17 percent workforce reduction and the store closings will produce cost savin...

Big enterprises are obvious sales targets for technology vendors. For both hardware and software providers, landing a big installation that affects thousands of workers is like hitting a home run. But the current economic climate is a stiff wind blowing in from the outfield, turning those prospectiv...

Computer makers sold some 72,000 tablet handheld computers during the fourth quarter, marking a "good start" for sales of what some have hailed as a revolutionary computing tool, according to research firm IDC. IDC analyst Alan Promisel told NewsFactor the strong launch makes it likely that first-ye...

In today's tightly budgeted IT environment, security spending is likely to be squeezed even more than other areas, because expenditures may appear to be unnecessary until a break-in occurs. Of course, no company wants to see its name in lights after a cyber attack. But neither do companies have coun...

The market for personal computers will not grow as quickly as previously expected during 2003, primarily because government budget woes will deflate spending in that key sector, a new report says. IDC is changing its growth forecast for PC unit sales to 6.9 percent, down from a December prediction o...

Web services is arguably the most important IT initiative of our time. Enterprise back ends, which have been cobbled together over decades with application-specific components from a variety of vendors, now can be (and increasingly must be) integrated and delivered to customers with a universality a...

Federal investigators reportedly have widened their probe into AOL's accounting practices during the dot-com boom years, focusing on whether AOL aided and abetted the artificial inflation of revenue reports at partner companies, including embattled Homestore.com. The Washington Post reported the pro...

While sometimes warranted, changing databases is a huge undertaking for almost any enterprise. An IT department embarking on such an endeavor should plan for a major upheaval, with sizeable up-front costs, a host of compatibility issues and the need to retrain key employees. Still, some companies se...

The e-tail universe has seen tremendous consolidation since the dot-com bubble burst. But more people are buying online every day. Air travel, consumer electronics and apparel are three of the hottest categories of consumer products sold online, IDC research manager Jonathan Gaw told the E-Commerce ...

In a massive upgrade and testing initiative, Microsoft is set to release 500,000 "beta 2" copies of Microsoft Office System, an enlarged and modernized version of the company's office productivity suite. The beta release marks one of Microsoft's most extensive testing programs ever, and by far the l...

So, you have a product or two. You want to expand your reach. The Internet sits at your fingertips. If you build it, will they come? Not necessarily. That is the big lesson of the bubble years -- and a quandary for small e-commerce companies at a time when venture capitalists are not feeling adventu...

Despite the ugly economic conditions facing IT, there are a few bright spots, and the computer gaming sector is one of them. Computer games continue to sell at a brisk pace, and the hot trend right now is online gaming. Ultima Online, EverQuest and Neverwinter Nights have developed huge fan bases, a...

Microsoft has shipped a beta version of its much-hyped Greenwich platform in an effort to elbow its way into an already-crowded market for enterprise instant messaging (IM). The company hopes to woo enterprise customers away from existing IM technology, such as corporate shareware sold by IBM and ne...

In an effort to solidify its niche in the online advertising market, search engine Google has launched an advertising service that will deliver Web pages with targeted, sponsored links instead of random banner ads. "Relevance is what matters to users," Google spokesperson David Krane told the E-Comm...

It is a common business scenario: A new CEO takes over a struggling company and vows to put it on more solid financial footing. He assures investors that he will cut only the fat from the ailing organization, leaving the muscle and bone the company will need to thrive intact. But when it comes time ...